Treatment–Refractory Schizophrenia: A Clinical Conundrum

“This book is an excellent collection of chapters that collectively comprise the clinical and scientific knowledge base about refractory schizophrenia. … For psychiatric practitioners, both prescribers and therapists, who manage schizophrenia on a daily basis, this book is a must own reference because of the wealth of helpful information between the covers.” (Henry A. Nasrallah, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 76 (9), September, 2015)

“This interesting book reviews treatment strategies and management options for those suffering from treatment-refractory schizophrenia (TRS). … The target audience includes psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Any clinicians who treat severely ill patients with psychiatric disorders would benefit from reading this book. … This is an exceptional book covering a current critical issue for psychiatry and the patients suffering from unremitting psychosis. I highly recommend it.” (Michael Joel Schrift, Doody’s Book Reviews, July, 2014)

Schizophrenia is often associated with an inadequate response to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. How to treat patients who have an unsatisfactory response to anti-psychotics, including clozapine - which is unequivocally the most powerful antipsychotic medication for this recalcitrant population  - remains a clinical conundrum. A range of adjunctive medications have been tried with mixed results; there has also been renewed interest in the role of neuromodulatory strategies, electroconvulsive therapy, and cognitive and vocational approaches. Perhaps a bright spot for the future lies in the evolution of pharmacogenetic approaches for individualized care.

 

In this book, leading experts from Europe, Australia and the Americas provide a timely appraisal of treatments for the most severely ill schizophrenia patients. This clinically focused  book is informed by the latest research on the neurobiology and treatment of schizophrenia. It is comprehensive in scope, covering current treatment options, various add-on approaches, and a range of psychosocial treatments. The contributors are respected experts who have combined their clinical experience with cutting-edge research to provide readers with authoritative information on fundamental aspects of clinical care for schizophrenia.